Barry and Honey Sherman – worth $4.7billion – were found dead by an estate agent who was giving prospective buyers a tour around their $6.9million mansion in Canada
The murder of a billionaire couple whose dead bodies were left in “strange yoga poses” beside a swimming pool is yet to be solved seven years on.
Barry and Honey Sherman – worth $4.7billion and considered the 15th richest people in Canada – were found by an estate agent who was giving prospective buyers a tour around their $6.9million mansion. The agent saw what she thought were “two mannequins” near the pool, and assumed it was a “very crude prank”.
The pair were found in December 2017 strangled with bruised wrists and belts around their necks, attached to the pool’s railings. In a new UKTV docuseries Billionaire Murders, Journalist Kevin Donovan spoke to around 200 friends, investigators and officials about the unsolved case.
The documentary revealed how Barry, aged 75, and his wife, Honey, 70, accumulated their wealth through Apotex – one of Canadas pharmaceutical giants. Their vast wealth, however, meant that Barry had gained some enemies.
Despite never attending law school, the billionaire was notorious for sniffing out legal loopholes, and made a fortune undercutting big-name pharmaceutical companies – generating revenue streams of $1.6 billion by marketing generic alternatives to drugs developed by larger corporations.
He once said of his rivals during an interview in 2000: “They hate us. They have private investigators on us all the time, trying to investigate. The thought once came to mind, why didn’t they just hire someone to knock me off. For a thousand bucks paid to the right person, you can probably get someone killed. Perhaps I’m surprised that hasn’t happened.”
On top of this, Barry had issues with the construction of his luxury residence, having taken legal action against tradespeople for huge sums. At the time of his and Honeys mysterious passing, he also won a drawn-out legal fued against four cousins laying claim to 20% of his wealth, leaving them with a $300,000 legal bill.
The couple’s children were also suspected as perpetrators with theories suggesting they killed their parents to inherit their billions. Reports began to surface that Honey and the kids had troubled relationships, as sources told the documentary that she was “nice and timid” to strangers but “rude” to her children.
During police interviews, all children were identified as a person of interest. “Everyone was pointing fingers,” a police source claimed. Suspicions then grew around one brother – Jonathan – who has for years adamantly denied being involved.
Jonathan is believed to have grown jealous of Barry having a “fatherly role” he always longed for, and, shortly before the murder, Barry demanded Jonothan to pay back millions loaned to him to start a business as he was “in a lot of financial trouble”. One email revealed Barry bluntly wrote: “I need you to pay me 50-60m dollars back as soon as possible.”
Police then shifted their focus to a mystery figure captured on CCTV on the street near the mansion around the time they were murdered. The man had a distinctive walk and was seen moving past the camera for a while, before reappearing and retracing his steps.
Cops released the footage four years too late and got nowhere with the sighting. At a press conference, officers said they hoped someone would “recognise this individual’s walk. The way in which they kick up their right foot with every step”. Toronto Star columnist Joe Warmington said: “This gait, this walk is very, very unusual and it fits into this whole business of this Agatha Christie-style murder case, a real whodunnit.”
Journalist Kevin slammed police for “sitting on that for four years” and said the decision was “ridiculous”, adding they should have released it straight away. “I think the killer or killers look at this investigation and think, ‘Boy did we get lucky?’” Kevin said. He went on to say that a huge $25million sum was added onto an initial reward to $10million in hopes it would speed up the murderer being caught.
Kevin says he won’t give up and will continue to push for answers “like a dog with a bone”. He added: “One day the murderers of Honey and Barry will be found out. Someone knows a piece of information that will help and until then my hunt continues.”
